#5SmartReads - February 21, 2023

Hitha on caregiving, a new way to observe Presidents' Day, and on living life on your terms

February 21, 2023

“National indifference to Presidents’ Day should be, at this critical moment, embraced as a rare opportunity to return to a founding ideal we should all be able to get behind: democracy. America is a precarious experiment that rests on the fulcrum of agreement. If elected officials and civil servants refuse to play by the same rules, voting access and democratic procedures will be eroded. Voters still have faith in our leaders, or at least they keep voting in elections, but the time has come to remind them of their place. The president, senators and representatives, after all, serve at the American electorate’s pleasure, and not the other way around.”

Alexis Coe has a brilliant way of informing and delighting readers in equal and excellent measure (highly recommend her Washington biography You Never Forget Your First). And I think we all should heed her words about Presidents’ Day and reframing it to observe and recommit to democracy, versus idolizing one or some of the 46 fallible men who have served as President of the United States.

It’s been 20 years since we saw Carrie Bradshaw register at Manolo Blahnik after her heels went missing at a friend’s party (and Carrie rightfully pointed out the tens of thousands of dollars she spent to celebrate said friend’s life choices of engagement, marriage, and babies).

And sadly, little has changed in how women’s life choices are viewed - especially women who are not married, and Black women even more so.

I love every word of this essay, but Dominique's aspiration for how she wants to live her life is one I believe we all share:

“I aspire to be a loving and kind person who makes an indelible impact in her communities through her work. I say that to say, my life’s purpose is not to be tethered to a man. While I understand marriage is about sharing your life with someone, establishing a life-long commitment, and creating everlasting love through faith, right now, I don’t want to share.”

Nor should you. To live your life, on your terms, is living your best life. And that’s worth celebrating as much as we celebrate weddings and babies.

It’s been 15 years since a sitting US president has visited Ukraine. And I wonder if President Biden heeded Coe’s words about Presidents’ Day becoming a day to observe and recommit to democracy, given his visit to Kyiv on Monday.

Such a visit - especially in an active war zone where our troops are not deployed - is not without its complications or security issues to address. And during the visit, Biden’s announcement of an additional $500M in aid demonstrates our country’s continued support of both Ukraine and democracy in the world.

I appreciated the details provided in this piece, as well as the secrecy that such a trip had to be planned under. And if you wonder how Ukrainians feel about the visit, I’ll leave you with their own words:

Women CEOs are still a rarity in the biopharma industry, but they continue to be my personal role models. Christi Shaw - the outgoing CEO of Kite Therapeutics - is one I admire, and I really enjoyed this interview and learning more about her own paid leave experience, scaling cell therapy, leadership, and how she and Kite are expanding access to both this class of therapy and our industry.

There’s a lack of transparency in life sciences that is by design (any pre-approval communication could be viewed as unauthorized marketing) and also because this industry is so vast, and what applies to reformulating drugs (my company’s focus) is very different to Kite’s work in cell therapies. I learned a lot about the challenges of manufacturing and distributing cell therapies at commercial scale in this piece, as well as the differences in reimbursement.

There are some things I’m actively working to change in my industry, namely making life-saving medications both affordable and accessible and getting to those who need it the most. I am heartened to see that Kite, in some ways, shares those values and has made strides on that front. But we all can - and must - do more.

I will say that the new CEO has big shoes to fill. Shaw has been an excellent chief executive, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Speaking of holidays and paid leave, last Friday was National Caregivers Day (a day that deserves far more recognition and an industry that deserves far more resources than they currently have).

The value of care in our economy is something I touched on earlier this month from an economic perspective. The qualitative details about caregiving and the care economy are just as important as the numbers, and this piece features the stories and wisdom of 4 different caregivers and highlights their stories - the good and the not so good - with care and nuance.

I hope you take the time to read these stories and soak in the advice you’ve likely heard, but takes a new depth when offered with their stories.

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